Positive Impacts from the Carolina Meadows Foundation

Meadowlark – September 2024 Edition

By Dick Hoffert, Carolina Meadows Foundation Board Chair

Gifts to the Carolina Meadows Foundation continue to provide meaningful impact for residents, employees, and our community.

Here are a few highlights:

• Sometimes the work of a board chair entails orchestrating collaboration to create something beautiful. Through the planning and oversight of Plant Operations and joint funding between the Foundation, the Residents Association, Meadow Singers, Music at the Meadows, and Resident Life, the auditorium stage was extended to house and store the Steinway piano. The piano previously sat on the carpeted floor below the stage, which made it difficult for performers and the audience to see the pianist and reduced the acoustic quality. If you have not already, I encourage you to attend a music performance in the auditorium to see and hear the difference your contributions make!

• The Employee Emergency Assistance Fund provides financial assistance of up to $1,000 when an employee is in a financial crisis that affects their safety or ability to work. Over the summer, the Foundation received and approved three requests. Your gifts to this fund provided relief for an employee who was hospitalized and fell behind on their rent and another whose roof collapsed, for example.

• Are you planning for your QCD/RMD contributions? If so, please designate your gift (such as to the Employee Success Fund) and have it written to Carolina Meadows, Inc. (CMI). Please note that this does not change any other tax-exempt giving options to Carolina Meadows Foundation, Inc. This only affects gifts to CMF through QCDs or RMDs. Want to learn more? Go to the FAQ tab of carolinameadowsfoundation.org.

 We could not do this work without your support. We are grateful for the generosity that abounds on this campus.

Positive Impacts from the Carolina Meadows Foundation

Meadowlark – June, July, August 2024 Edition

By Dick Hoffert, Carolina Meadows Foundation Board Chair

Gifts to the Carolina Meadows Foundation continue to provide meaningful impact for residents, employees, and our community. Generous private gifts facilitate significant energy savings. Thanks to Judith Ferster, we have a new all-electric wheelchair-accessible van, which was converted from a gas-powered vehicle. Her gift will also support the future installation of two electric- vehicle charging stations with two ports each (four total) in the Club Center parking lot. Thanks to a gift from Judith’s brother, David Ferster and his wife Indira Raman, our Plant Operations building has 90 solar panels on its roof. Judith’s and David’s parents lived at CM. These gifts demonstrate the impact of family and resident generosity and how we can build on donor passions to fund projects which benefit our entire community.

Our new Legacy Leaders Program continues to grow. The Foundation has secured 12 Legacy gifts, estimated at $1,000,000 of future funding from 18 Legacy Leaders. Residents continue to commit to this new program expressing their deep appreciation for our caring community with the intent to keep it thriving into the future.

The Labyrinth Fund generated $7,500 from a silent auction of gorgeous wooden bowls made from the oak tree which fell during a storm in 2023. These funds will be used to maintain the labyrinth and acquire new trees and a sunshade. We could not do this work without your support, and we are grateful for the commitment you have to our wonderful community we call home.

Continuing our Caring Culture - Support Employees in Need

Meadow Lark – May, 2023 Edition

 By Dick Hoffert, Carolina Meadows Foundation Board Chair

When I moved into Carolina Meadows in 2021, residents told me that our employees are the heartbeat of our community. Residents share a special relationship with our employee team based on mutual caring and respect.

As the new chair of the Carolina Meadows Foundation (CMF) Board of Directors, I am committed to helping further this culture of caring.  At first, I did not realize all the good that CMF does for our community, and particularly our dedicated employees. One example of how CMF helps is our Employee Emergency Fund.     

This fund was started during the pandemic. It raised more than $117,000 from 350 residents and has distributed support to 100 employees in need over the past 3 years. The fund supports financial crisis which affect the employees’ safety, well-being or ability to work. 

The Board is committed to maintaining this crucial life line for our dedicated employees.  After the initial funds were distributed, the Board transferred CMF funds to allow us to continue supporting this vital employee program.  

Here is just one example of how we were able to help.  One employee who had worked at CM  for 11 years needed funds due to a domestic incident where a significant other stole the employee’s savings.  The employee ended up homeless as their own extended family was an unsafe option.  The Employee Emergency Fund provided $600 for a new apartment deposit to get her quickly and safely housed. 

Many of you have expressed an interest in supporting our team, and here is how you can help. You can donate online at carolinameadowsfoundation.org. Click on donate, Employee Fund with sub-designation Employee Emergency Assistance.  You can also write a check to CMF with memo Employee Emergency Fund. Please contact Amy Gorely at 919-370-7213 for more info. Thank you in advance for your caring! 

With Heartfelt Gratitude: Letter From the Board Chair

Being a part of the Carolina Meadows community is one of the best decisions I have ever made. And after this past year,

I could not be more appreciative of our community!

I am proud that the Carolina Meadows Foundation (CMF) established an Employee Emergency Fund in 2018. We had no idea that this fund would play a major role in our assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your gifts to this fund made a tremendous impact.

It is true that Carolina Meadows employees are ESSENTIAL. This took on an even greater meaning in 2020. Employees are essential in what they do. They went above and beyond to keep us safe. They perform their duties with dedication and a caring heart. For this reason, the Foundation’s greatest successes this year were the Employee Emergency Fund and the annual Team Member Fund.

None of this would be possible without YOU. The support of residents, loved ones and employees is what enables the Foundation to continue to make an impact and move into our next phase. We thank you!

Pat Mandell, Board Chair

Carolina Meadows Foundation

You make the Difference: Letter from the Director

The Carolina Meadows Foundation provides funds from generous gifts to help Carolina Meadows achieve our vision to be the best place to live and work. This vision inspires each of us to consider how we can enhance the quality of life and spirit of innovation within our already caring Carolina Meadows community.

The charitable giving focus this year was on supporting our essential employees as they juggle dedication to work with family responsibilities in the midst of a crisis. Future giving foci will include The Fund for Campus Life and The Fund for the Future. More to come!

Whether you want to honor the excellent care of a spouse or family member, celebrate a fellow resident, support employee education or leave a legacy gift, the Carolina Meadows Foundation can connect you with a meaningful giving opportunity.

Please know that your gifts – big and small – make an impact. YOU make the difference. Thank you in advance for all you do and will do for Carolina Meadows!

Amy Gorely, Executive Director Carolina Meadows Foundation

Kevin McLeod, CEO and President Carolina Meadows, Inc.